I would recomend leaving a few of the larger trees. The animals should keep saplings down (especially if you have a mix of them)your pasture will still be productive if you remove most of the tree cover but you will keep your land cooler and have a few more good trees growing for possible high quality lumber in the future.

Hi Mark,
My neighbor paid 18k to have her 1 acre backyard cleared and leveled, it did have some large pines on the property but her husband had already dropped them so it was a matter of cleaning up, digging out stumps and grading. I'm not sure how remote your property is but could you call a couple of contractors and ask for quotes?

Congratulations on buying the property! very exciting to have your plans and something to dream about for the future!

-Sheila

I'm not a farmer (yet) but I love to read and dream about having one.

I read somewhere (was it in this forum?)that pigs can't be beat for clearing land. Someone said they will even uproot stumps, if you throw a handful of corn around the roots.

18k an acre?? Yikes! Looks like I'll be spending a lot of time up there with chain saw and stump grinder...

I'll be leaving a few big trees, 'cause I'll want a treehouse of my very own ;-). Since I'll be flying an ultralight aircraft out of the pasture, the trees will be to the side. Trees don't do very well in a horse pasture, since I've watched horses chew all the bark off just for fun.

I just had about 8-10 acres of PA property cleared a couple of months ago. That 10 acres also appears to have been a pasture of some sort years ago, as it was covered in mostly 5-6 foot "bushes" of some type and several large pines. Remainder of property is cherry and oak timber. Total cost was $1,060. I don't have the invoice in front of me, but I think I was charged anywhere from $30 to $50 per hour, depending on the size of the equipment. Of course, they just pushed the bushes into a pile on another part of the property (DH wanted something for the wildlife to take refuse in during the winter).

Wow! I can't even imagine paying that to clear a measley acre of land. Some people just have more money than God, I guess.

We bought 58 acres of land that was never farmed or pastured. Our first purchase was a DR Brush Hog. It was $1600 and I couldn't believe we could pay that much for a machine. I have to tell you it was the best money we ever spent. That was 9 years ago. That machine is used all the time and although it doesn't do everything, it was money well spent.

We live here now and have lots of other toys, but that DR is still used where nothing else works.

Well, I've got room to pile stuff, since I only want 6-10 of the 20 acres cleared.

The whole project is intimidating. After closing, I drove out to the property, sat on a tree stump and ate a burger while skeeters tore up my ankles and a daddy long legs ran around my shoulders. My primary thought was, "what have I gotten myself into?"

First, I have to get an access driveway in. Since a drainage ditch runs alongside the road, I have to get a "Culvert Permit" from the state, since the drainage ditch is considered "wetlands", just so they can enlarge the ditch, lay down a culvert and pour a bunch of rock/gravel to form a bridge. That's step one.

Then, I clear the land. Let it sit for 4-5 years, bushhogging as necessary, then get it plowed and seeded for grass (probably Timonthy), then the year I retire get a well dug, septic dug, and plop down a cheapie modular home.

Then set up a barn, electric fence the field, get the horsies settled in, grow potatoes and tomatoes, foxhunt with Guilford Hounds (only 8 miles away!) and proceed to shrivel up and die over the remaining 20 years.

Simple.

Mark1farmer,

Congrats on your purchase.

You are in NH, can you say rocks? LOL
My FIL has been clearing land for 20 years for pasture for his hobby polled herefords. He figures he has spent an average of $10K per acre. Now this is very finely done mind you and most of this land has been old orchards. I guess it depends on how pristine you want your pastures.

I know Guilford Hounds..............where are you in NH? I am in the Monadnock Region and have been meaning to do a hunter pace with them but it never happens! The fall pace sounds fun, especially the carriages.

I'm presently living in New Jersey, I'm a member of Bull Run Hunt in Virginia, I'm horseless at the moment (borrowing others' mounts to hunt).

The land is near Acworth.

All I need is a pasture clean enough for horses, something that will give them some good grass to munch in the summer, and not break their legs with ruts, holes and big rocks. I figure a bulldozer with a rock rake could probably smooth things out enough (I've galloped across some pretty rocky pastures in Ireland). 10K is another discouraging number, I've got a NH local landscape contractor looking at the property for an estimate.

You will be able to clear you land sufficiently without too much expense I am sure.

I know Acworth well. A friend of mine recently moved from there. He owned Black North Farm. I used to go up and carriage drive with him, (he taught me to drive). It's a lovelyl area. I know two other people who live there as well.

The cost of firewood is going up around here. Someone may be willing to clear the land for the firewood. (Get to know your neighbors, ask questions at a local saw mill). Also, check the hardwoods out. These days you can fetch a good price for some nice oak, cherry, maple, walnut, etc. We selectively cut some oak and had it hauled to a mill where it was planed for boards. We saved alot of money on building with our "home grown" oak. Pine is good, too. There were ads in the paper for people willing to cut trees. I paid $15 per tree a couple of years ago. Also, the brush hog is a very good investment. Save more money for retirement!

Well, I got one call back from a land clearing contractor. I had earlier told him where the land was, so he walked over it. His estimate is 2 to 3 thousand per acre. I think we'll be clearing 6 acres of land this spring.

Anybody care to hazard a guess as to how much is costs to seed Timonthy Grass per acre?

Yes horses will chew on trees, but they also benefit from the shade a tree throws. Consider fencing off some of those trees, then you can let your horses out more in the summer since they will have shade trees to hide under to get away from the files.

I have miniature donkeys, and have added trees to my pastures and fenced them off to add shade. That means I can keep them in the pasture more during the summer, and less in the barn. Less cleanup!

a friend of our family was in a similar situation awhile back, he ended up buying an older backhoe. He used it for all his projects on his property for a couple years then sold it for about 1,000 less than he paid for it. Tractors can hold their value really well. A back hoe with a 4 in 1 bucket could help out alot removing and moving stumps. something else to think about anyways

I know many contractors in the area and would be happy to pass along their numbers. The average is $1,00 to $2,000 an acre.

Or, if you want to do it yourself, I just cleared a 30 acre pasture where I rented a backhoe, and a dozer for the big stuff and then my trusty tractor with the york rake did the finishing touches.

When you get yourself situated please come by for a visit. We would love to have you.

The kennels are located in Alstead.

Gregory Kittredge
MFH, Guilford Hounds

www.guilfordhounds.com

Welcome to the neighborhood!

Here is a link that might be useful: Guilford Hounds

You might consider getting your barn up after getting your drive in as then you will have a place for tools and equipment

Fence it and add goats and pigs. They will eat the brush and root around, then you can round them up and sell them and put in the grass seed. You've got a couple years to work on getting it to proper horse pasture.

We are hoping to do just the opposite, buy grassland and grow forests. Forests add habitat for wildlife, keep the moisture in the soil and once the trees are grown 10% of them per year can be selectively harvested for years and years. That can bring in a really good income if they are the right species of trees.

It takes a lot longer to grow a tree than it does to chop one down, make sure you don't want the trees before getting rid of them. If they have any diameter to them, they can probably be used for firewood, lumber or something else useful instead of just being wasted.

You might want to ask around and get opinions on your local dozer operators. People in the area know who the good ones are and who you need to stay away from . Get several to come out and give you estimates. Depending upon the size of the dozer around here they run for $80-$150 per hour. Any good dozer operator should be able to give you either estimates or just bid the job outright. Regardless, clearing ground is not inexpensive.

Then you have perimeter fencing to consider. While I have no problems using electric fence for inside fencing I prefer to have a tight woven wire fence on my boundries. No one needs their livestock wandering down the highway at 2:00 in the morning because a deer ran through your electric fence. The liability issue there scares the bejeebies out of me.

As to putting up a barn. Have you considered putting up one that's big enough to actually finish part of it to live in? You might find that's more appealing than a modular home. Has the potential to be a lot sturdier.

As far as seeding ground, are you in good enough ground to be able to use a no till seeder? That would keep your cost down as far as pasture renovation. Our local Soil Conservation Service has a Tye drill that they rent out to anyone that no-tills. Perhaps they offer something similar in your area. We have two that we use to drill wheat and rye into pastures for early spring feed. We also overseed alfalfa and clover in other areas.

I've been told that goats are good at taking care of underbrush. Course that's not feasible until you get the fencing and are actually living there.

Whatever you choose to do, there's no free lunch. It's gonna cost!

Janet

The soil is a sandy loam, with rocks scattered throughout.

I've gotten one estimate so far, 2 to 3 thousand an acre to clear it. I'm waiting to see if Greg K. passes along any numbers for local contractors so I can get some more estimates.

Yeah, I was planning on an electric fence around the pasture, with a couple strands of barbed wire around the property perimeter.

Don't know if I want to live in the barn though. I want the barn to be just big enough for a couple of horse stalls, and a grooming area, in order for it to be warm in the winter.. I'm thinking a 20X30 foot steel building, connected to the house with an enclosed walkway so I can stroll out in the middle of the night without wading through snow.

Being an engineer, there will be gadgetry. It shouldn't be too hard to rig up an alarm that detects when the electric fence is knocked down. A few tension sensors, or fence post trip wires should let me know when the local Bambi squad has knocked down the fence.

When I get a Round Tuit, I'll be posting over in the fruit forum on recommendations on what kind of apple tree(s) will do good up there, because I want to plant a couple soon, so they'll be near bearing age when I move up there.

Here's what I'm doing on the 33 acres that I inherited in North Carolina.

First, I checked with a forestry consultant, whom I happen to go to church with. He walked the land and gave me an estimate of the worth of the timber on the property. Then, he took bids from logging companies. The high bidder won the contract, the consultant handles all the negotiations and supervises the cutting.

After the cut, I was left with cleared land, but brush and laps from the trees that were harvested remained on the property. These pieces are currently being "harvested" for firewood. What's left will be burned off early this winter.

The area that I want to keep cleared (7 acres) has been marked off. The remaining acreage will be replanted, using part of the proceeds from the timber sale and a grant from the state Forestry Service for replanting.

The area that's left will have stumps, but they have been cut close to the ground. I have scored the top of these stumps with a chainsaw and applied nitrogen, in different forms, which will hasten the decomposition of the stumps. I don't plan to use a bulldozer for anything.

Total out of pocket expenses: $0.00. The timber brought a good bit of cash that I will have available for farm use and to pay other expenses.

The consultant gets his money from a percentage of the price that the timber bought, plus he remains as my consultant, working to get the replanted areas back into shape for the next sale, in about 18 years.

The timber company built a good road into the property (I failed to mention that the entire area was 95 acres, split betwen myself and my siblings). The consultant made sure that the road was kept in good condition, plus he marked off a 50-foot corridor to protect the small streams on the property.

I am more than satisfied.

My recommendation would be to find a good forestry consultant. Since you have several years before your move, I would think that you can do the same. Check with the State Forestry Service. Ours keeps a list of licensed consultants.

Good luck!!

I'm currently in the process of clearing 10 acres of dense woodland using a chainsaw, a weed eater, and a lot of sweat. I understand not everyone is capable (or willing) to perform that kind of labor, but for those of us on an extremely tight budget, doing things the hard way is a way of life. At least I don't have to spend money on a gym membership to get some exercise. I get to workout and work on something constructive at the same time.